COUNTERPOINT [Murphy] The death penalty does not always help the families achieve closure, infact, many family members of the murder victims are against the death penalty. There are many groups that are coming together to advocate for the end of the death penalty, such as Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) and the California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CCV). On the “about the CCV” page on their website, it says that “after the horrifying loss of a loved one to homicide, they are left with a clear awareness that the death penalty fails to address the needs of victims on many counts” (“Home”). They talk about how the money that they spend on actually executing someone could go to the families of the victims
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While this has some truth to it, it is not enough to murder these people. “Since 1973, for example, 150 US prisoners sent to death row have later been exonerated” (“Amnesty International”). This means that in the past 40 some years 150 people have been killed for “committing” a crime that they did not actually commit. How is this preventing crime? The government has now taken the lives of 150 innocent people. This is just as bad, if not worse than the criminal who actually commits a crime that is “death penalty worthy”. “Some of the states that most avidly execute prisoners, such as Texas and Oklahoma, have higher crime rates than states that offer only life in prison without parole” (“Saving Lives and Money”). That does not really seem like it is deterring crime. If the death penalty is all about making crime lower, why would the crime rate in the places with the most capital punishment executions have some of the highest crime rates? According to death penalty.org, since 1976, Texas has had 531 executions and Oklahoma has had 112 executions. This totals 643 people that were murdered by two states alone (“Death Penalty Info”). “According to a survey of the former and present presidents of the country’s top academic criminological societies, 88% of these experts rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder… Consistent with previous years, the 2014 FBI …show more content…
The quote is describing how the death penalty is an undesirable side effect of the current culture of violence that is plaguing the world. It then goes on to say that the death penalty will not fix the issue. This means that the death penalty will in no way prevent crimes from happening, it will not decrease the overcrowding in the jails, and it certainly will not fix the issues that loved ones of the victim have with closure. The death penalty is practically legalized
While this has some truth to it, it is not enough to murder these people. “Since 1973, for example, 150 US prisoners sent to death row have later been exonerated” (“Amnesty International”). This means that in the past 40 some years 150 people have been killed for “committing” a crime that they did not actually commit. How is this preventing crime? The government has now taken the lives of 150 innocent people. This is just as bad, if not worse than the criminal who actually commits a crime that is “death penalty worthy”. “Some of the states that most avidly execute prisoners, such as Texas and Oklahoma, have higher crime rates than states that offer only life in prison without parole” (“Saving Lives and Money”). That does not really seem like it is deterring crime. If the death penalty is all about making crime lower, why would the crime rate in the places with the most capital punishment executions have some of the highest crime rates? According to death penalty.org, since 1976, Texas has had 531 executions and Oklahoma has had 112 executions. This totals 643 people that were murdered by two states alone (“Death Penalty Info”). “According to a survey of the former and present presidents of the country’s top academic criminological societies, 88% of these experts rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder… Consistent with previous years, the 2014 FBI …show more content…
The quote is describing how the death penalty is an undesirable side effect of the current culture of violence that is plaguing the world. It then goes on to say that the death penalty will not fix the issue. This means that the death penalty will in no way prevent crimes from happening, it will not decrease the overcrowding in the jails, and it certainly will not fix the issues that loved ones of the victim have with closure. The death penalty is practically legalized